Who is Thanuja Gowda From Bigg Boss Telugu 9?
Thanuja Gowda, the first contestant to walk into the Bigg Boss Telugu 9 house, is the kind of person who steps onto a reality show stage with the air of someone who’s already fought bigger battles—with herself, with society, with lots of unpredictable plot twists. Thanuja Puttaswamy recently shared on Instagram, feeling excited, tense, and nervous at once, thanking fans for their love and support in her journey.
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Thanuja’s journey didn’t begin with the glitz of television glare; it started back in Bangalore, where her family had academic dreams for her, but her own compass pointed stubbornly toward the world of performance—much to her father’s frustration.
He actually stopped talking to her for years when she took her first film role instead of pursuing a “stable” job as a teacher (makes you wonder if all parents are born with that dream, right?)—but you can feel, even in passing stories about her, that she’s the sort who’d rather risk disappointment than what-if regret. Oddly, there’s something relatable in her mischief: school “backbencher,” she calls herself, never a fan of textbooks but always a sucker for attention and a bit of drama.
Professionally, Thanuja is best known in Telugu circles for her lead role in “Mudda Mandaram”—the kind of daily soap that glues half of southern India to the screen most evenings, where she played Parvathi and frankly stole the show for over 1,500 episodes. If you ask any regular viewer about Thanuja, they’ll probably gush about her on-screen chemistry with co-star Pavan Sai (there are WhatsApp forwards dedicated to this pair—don’t ask).
Her career mapped out quietly at first, with her debut in the Kannada horror film “6-5=2,” which wasn’t a mega blockbuster but let her dip her toes in the big, unpredictable pool of South Indian entertainment—Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil serials alike. There’s something charmingly scattered about her resume: bits of TV, a viral stint in a cooking-comedy show called “Cooku with Jathiratnalu,” emotional drama, reality tussles—maybe a reflection of her own restless spirit.
Her age deserves a quick word, because online sources can’t seem to agree—some say 33 (Honestly, in the world of entertainment, isn’t it a right of passage for a woman’s age to be “confused” by the internet?) Most reliable sources lean toward her being born in 1992, making her 33 this year, though if you meet her fans, they’ll tell you her energy is younger than the lot of us put together. Well, her exact date of birth is not known.
If you want to catch Thanuja at her most authentic, look past the perfect makeup and into the little cracks—her willingness to talk openly about family rifts, to laugh about being a troublemaker in class, or to aim straight for the competition in Bigg Boss with a mix of nervous candor and “come at me” confidence.
First episodes already hint at someone who won’t blend blandly into the background. “I know everyone expects the innocent girl,” she quipped on air, “but innocence doesn’t win this game. Watch me.” It’s classic reality TV bravado, but—with Thanuja—you get the sense she means every word. There’s vulnerability behind the armor, but also a stubborn belief in her own story. Not bad for someone who had to fight her way out of being labeled just an “actress”—to become, maybe, in these next few weeks, Telugu TV’s latest icon of grit (and, let’s be honest, a little masala) for 2025
